
Once again we finished the year with a great weekend in the Bunya Mountains completing surveys for the Key Biodiversity Area programme.
For our second visit to the Bunya Mountains and Yarraman KBA area we decided to follow exactly the same survey methods and locations as last year. This would allow us to gather some comparable data and get a general impression on how things had changed from the year before.
We booked the same two cabins as the last year as well, many of the same people returned, and with a few new faces, we had a full compliment of 14 people attending, as well as local birder John Learmonth who meet us in the Bunyas.

The weather outlook was a concern but we were locked in and couldn’t move the accommodation booking so gave it a go anyway. Fortunately the weather turned out to be perfect – the predicted storm came through early on Friday night, and although it was violent with a few trees subsequently coming down, it cleared to a perfect weekend for birding.

These are some of our key findings from the weekend:
- 15 observers participated
- 4 x 2ha-20min surveys and 6 x 500m radius surveys were completed
- 224 bird records entered to Birdata
- 51 bird species recorded, 3 of them breeding (suggestive behaviour, i.e. nest building)
- Threatened species = 0; listed Migratory species = 2 (Black-faced Monarch, Rufous Fantail)
- KBA species: the KBA assessment at https://www.keybiodiversityareas.org/site/factsheet/24811 includes 5 species (but they are cited as meeting ‘legacy criteria” that are no longer used). Of these five, 3 were recorded in our surveys: Green Catbird, Paradise Riflebird, Regent Bowerbird.
- No sightings or evidence of presence (feeding scrapes) of Black-breasted Button-quail during these surveys but evidence often is scarce immediately after heavy rain.
- Note that the other one of the five, Australian Logrunner, is rarely recorded in the Bunya Mountains (further inquiry needed).

Australian Brush-turkey | Alectura lathami |
Australian King-Parrot | Alisterus scapularis |
Australian Magpie | Gymnorhina tibicen |
Australian Raven | Corvus coronoides |
Black-faced Monarch | Monarcha melanopsis |
Brown Cuckoo-Dove | Macropygia phasianella |
Brown Gerygone | Gerygone mouki |
Brown Honeyeater | Lichmera indistincta |
Brown Quail | Synoicus ypsilophorus |
Brown Thornbill | Acanthiza pusilla |
Common Cicadabird | Edolisoma tenuirostre |
Crested Shrike-tit | Falcunculus frontatus |
Crimson Rosella | Platycercus elegans |
Eastern Spinebill | Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris |
Eastern Whipbird | Psophodes olivaceus |
Eastern Yellow Robin | Eopsaltria australis |
Fan-tailed Cuckoo | Cacomantis flabelliformis |
Galah | Eolophus roseicapilla |
Golden Whistler | Pachycephala pectoralis |
Green Catbird | Ailuroedus crassirostris |
Grey Fantail | Rhipidura albiscapa |
Grey Goshawk | Accipiter novaehollandiae |
Grey Shrike-thrush | Colluricincla harmonica |
Large-billed Scrubwren | Sericornis magnirostra |
Laughing Kookaburra | Dacelo novaeguineae |
Lewin’s Honeyeater | Meliphaga lewinii |
Noisy Pitta | Pitta versicolor |
Olive-backed Oriole | Oriolus sagittatus |
Paradise Riflebird | Lophorina paradisea |
Pied Currawong | Strepera graculina |
Red-browed Finch | Neochmia temporalis |
Regent Bowerbird | Sericulus chrysocephalus |
Rose Robin | Petroica rosea |
Rufous Fantail | Rhipidura rufifrons |
Russet-tailed Thrush | Zoothera heinei |
Satin Bowerbird | Ptilonorhynchus violaceus |
Scarlet Honeyeater | Myzomela sanguinolenta |
Shining Bronze-Cuckoo | Chalcites lucidus |
Silvereye | Zosterops lateralis |
Southern Boobook | Ninox boobook |
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo | Cacatua galerita |
Superb Fairy-wren | Malurus cyaneus |
Topknot Pigeon | Lopholaimus antarcticus |
Torresian Crow | Corvus orru |
Variegated Fairy-wren | Malurus lamberti |
White-browed Scrubwren | Sericornis frontalis |
White-headed Pigeon | Columba leucomela |
White-throated Treecreeper | Cormobates leucophaea |
Wonga Pigeon | Leucosarcia melanoleuca |
Yellow-faced Honeyeater | Caligavis chrysops |
Yellow-throated Scrubwren | Sericornis citreogularis |
It was pleasing to see how some of the areas that were dryer last year were recovering now. The Bunya Mountains and Yarraman KBA area is quite large, and although the Bunya Mountains surveys will be a regular end of year event, we are looking at expanding our surveys next year with a separate trip to the Yarraman State Forest to conduct surveys there as well.
Thanks to Mike Ford for organising the accommodation, Roger Jaensch for planning and leading the surveys, and to Rodney Appleby and the BSQ Committe for financially supporting the trip and survey work.




















